World War Z
World War Z (The Challenge of the Justice League, Part 1) is the fifteenth episode in the second season of "The Justice League Show", introducing Ares and Steve Trevor, as well as General Erich Ludendorff and Dr. Isabel Maru, respectively. Synopsis After being thrown into a portal by Brainiac 1.0, Wonder Woman encounters a private soldier from the United States military, named Steve Trevor, who explains to her about the massive conflict called the World War. Convinced that only she can stop this global threat, Wonder Woman must fight alongside the US army to end the war of all wars before encountering the God of War behind the plan of conquest and destruction, Ares. Plot The episode begins with Wonder Woman being thrown into Earth in 1918 by Brainiac 1.0. There, she is discovered in a spotlight by army tanks and soldiers that start surrounding her; she is captured and interrogated by General Erich Ludendorff of the Imperial German Army, who tries to get information of the whereabouts of a notebook stolen from his chief chemist, Dr. Isabel Maru, when Private Steve Trevor of the U.S. Army infiltrates his base to rescue her. After introducing himself, Private Trevor reveals that that a great war is consuming their world. He has stolen a notebook of the Dr. Maru, who is attempting to engineer a deadlier form of mustard gas under the orders of the General from a weapon facility in the Ottoman Empire. Believing Ares to be responsible for the war, Wonder Woman joins the U.S. Army to locate and stop Ares for good. Elsewhere, at S.T.A.R. Labs, in Hero City, Hawkman checks out his mail, and shreds each junk mail with S.T.R.I.P.E. until he comes upon "Daily Planet News Headline" about the Justice League missing along with Alfred's distress call. In London, they deliver Maru's notebook to the Supreme War Council, where Sir Patrick Morgan is trying to negotiate an armistice with Germany. Wonder Woman translates Maru's notes and reveals that the Germans plan to release the deadly gas at the Western Front. Although forbidden by his commander to act, Steve, with secret funding from Morgan, recruits Moroccan spy Sameer, Scottish marksman Charlie, and Native American smuggler Chief Napi to help prevent the gas from being released. The team reaches the front in Belgium. Diana goes alone through No Man's Land and captures the enemy trench, allowing the Allied forces to help her liberate the nearby village of Veld. The team briefly celebrates, taking a photograph in the village, while Diana and Steve begin to fall in love. The team learns that a gala will be held at the nearby German High Command. Steve and Wonder Woman separately infiltrate the party, with Steve intending to locate the gas and destroy it, and Wonder Woman hoping to kill Ludendorff, believing that he is Ares and thus killing him will end the war. Steve stops her to avoid jeopardizing his mission, but this allows Ludendorff to unleash the gas on Veld, killing its inhabitants. Blaming Steve for intervening, Wonder Woman pursues Ludendorff to a base where the gas is being loaded into a bomber aircraft bound for London. Wonder Woman fights and kills him, but is confused and disillusioned when his death does not stop the war. Morgan appears and reveals himself as Ares. He tells Wonder Woman that although he has subtly given humans ideas and inspirations, using Ludendorff and Maru as pawns in the process, it is ultimately their decision to resort to violence as they are inherently corrupt. When Wonder Woman attempts to kill Ares with the "Godkiller" sword, he destroys it, then reveals to Wonder Woman that she herself is the "Godkiller", as the daughter of Zeus and Hippolyta. He then uses Queen Hippolyta and Artemis as hostages until Wonder Woman submits into helping him destroy mankind in order to restore paradise on Earth, only to use Trevor's knowledge and taunt her about her hair to make her submit; it backfires, however, as Wonder Woman is literally blinded by rage and doesn't even notice the manuscript as Ares is violently punched into some cargo, releasing the Queen and Artemis. Ares asks why is Wonder Woman so enraged, prompting Artemis to reminisce Wonder Woman's story. Long ago in Themyscira, after Ares's raid which costed Zeus, creator of this hidden island, his life, Wonder Woman, whose real name is Princess Diana, was although initially forbidden by her mother to be trained as a warrior, the Queen reluctantly agrees to let Artemis train her, only more rigorously than any other warrior. This inspires Wonder Woman to copy the warriors' hairstyle and take extreme offense to anyone who insults it. Meanwhile, Steve hijacks and pilots the bomber carrying the poison to a safe altitude and detonates it, sacrificing him while his team destroys Maru's laboratory. Ares, inspired by this story, demonstrates his commitment to his work by attempting to direct Diana's rage and grief at Steve's death by convincing her to kill Maru, but the memories of her experiences with Steve cause her to realize that humans have good within them. She spares Maru and redirects Ares's lightning to him, killing for good. Later, the U.S. Army celebrates the end of the war during the Armistice of November 11, 1918, with Wonder Woman hailed and celebrated as a hero. Back at S.T.A.R. Labs, the Guardians of the Universe call the Justice Society of America about Brainiac 1.0's scheme against the Justice League. The JSA reassures the Green Lantern Corps that they will pay Brainiac 1.0 back in a currency of smackdown for what they did to them. Draft A draft must be written on this free page here. Trivia/References * S.T.R.I.P.E. choking on a newspaper should be a reference to Squidward from "SpongeBob SquarePants" choking on a fork. Category:Season 2